The artists and workers who have occupied on January 30th the National Opera House-Ethniki Lyriki Skini (ELS) and renamed it into Eksegermeni Laiki Skini (ELS)- Popular  Opera in Rebellion decided to end the occupation last Saturday February 7th .  But they left the area that they had liberated not defeated; by their own decision they will continue the struggle in other places the next period. They departed from the Opera with a triumphant march in the streets of Athens to celebrate their success to attract for a week thousands of people in a unique experience in recent Greek history of unification of art and revolution, despite the constant threats of the bosses and of the capitalist State, despite the conspiracy of silence of all the mass media.

Lue lisää »

Sveitsin Davosissa sunnuntaina päättyi kapitalistien vuotuinen talousfoorumi. Käteen jäi vain yksimielisyys siitä, että kaikista asioista ollaan eri mieltä. Sanoissa kaikki varoittavat protektionismista, ja käytännössä jokainen heistä suosii omaa valtiotaloutta. Yhteisymmärrys näyttää vallitsevan vain siitä, että kriisi tulee aiheuttamaan lisää mellakoita ja kapinoita. Täysin erimielisiä talousfoorumilaiset olivat myös siitä, miten tulisi reagoida kolmannen maailman konflikteihin. Suurimpana huippukohtana mainittakoot Turkin pääministeri Erdoganin ja Israelin presidentti Peresin välinen väittely, joka johti ensinmainitun ulosmarssiin. Yksimielisyyttä etsi talouselämän ja poliittisen eliitin n. 2 500 vaikuttajaa. Mukana olivat Venäjä ja Kiina.

Lue lisää »

Brilliant, full of imagination, events take place in the National Opera House in Athens occupied, or rather liberated by the artists from January the 30th.  The general assembly discuss everyday and decide a program of political and artistic actions: performances, group improvisations, plays, concerts of classical, modern, contemporary, jazz and rock music, martial arts courses(as the danger of a riot police invasion is always present), film showing, debates and political meetings, dances in the street.

Lue lisää »

Uusliberalismin talousihme on osoittautunut pelkäksi ilmakuplaksi. Islannissa luokkataistelu on kaatanut hallituksen ja nyt se uhkailee porvariston vakautta muuallakin Euroopassa. Kun Islannin pankkijärjestelmä romahti viime lokakuussa, Financial Times – lehti näki tilanteen kehityksessä barometria, johon oli heijastumassa maailman kapitalismin orastava kriisi. Nyt neljän kuukauden kuluttua koko maa on vararikossa. Poliittisella tasolla ensimmäisen porvarihallituksen kaatuminen kriisin seuraamuksiin on kääntänyt kaikkien katseet kohti Islantia.
Lue lisää »

Vaalit eivät ratkaise yhteiskunnallisia ristiriitoja. Siitä huolimatta imperialismi yrittää niiden kautta saada demokraattisen naamion nukkehallitsijoittensa kasvoille. Tämä osoittautuu joskus bumerangiksi. Afganistanin kansaa on tällä hetkellä vaikea saada uskomaan, että vaalit toisivat demokratiaa, leipää tai rauhaa.

Lue lisää »

Statement of the Initiative for the Revolutionary Workers’ Party (DİP)

2/2/2009

The Initiative for the Revolutionary Workers’ Party considers fully warranted the response by Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan to the attitude of Shimon Peres, the president of Israel, and David Ignatius, US journalist and moderator of the panel discussion. It was correct to criticise sharply Peres’ manner of speaking, to respond in kind to the moderator, who kept patting the prime minister of a foreign country on the shoulder, displaying the arrogance of a person close to the establishment circles of an imperialist country, to remind him of the unfair allotment of time to the different speakers, thereby privileging Peres, and in the end to abandon the panel. Those who criticise Erdoğan for using the bullying style he resorts to back home are thereby promoting the idea that he should have acted meekly when confronted with such effrontery from imperialists and Zionists. They have thus also been admitted that they cannot defend the idea of equality among nations even for their own people, let alone for those nations whom they oppress. Erdoğan’s behaviour is so abominable domestically because he unjustly attacks oppressed people. It is exactly for the symmetric reason why his behaviour at Davos is to be commended. There is no basis for comparing the two, as Erdoğan is the oppressor in the domestic cases while he represents the underdog in the Davos case. Erdoğan has displayed a more honourable attitude vis-à-vis the representatives of imperialism and Zionism than his detractors.

Lue lisää »

Wither the revolt?

An important political rally and debate took place on January 31st in the Sporting Stadium, in Athens, Greece. More than 2000 left militants attended coming from all over Greece to discuss on the crisis, the December revolt and its prospects.

It was called by 10 organizations of the far left regrouped in Greece mainly in two front formations: MERA( Front of the Radical Left including the New Left Current/NAR that had split from the CP in 1989,  EEK, the Greek Section of the CRFI, EKKE, a small Maoist group, and independent leftists) and ENANTIA(United Anti-Capitalist Left including the SEK/SWP- the co-thinkers of the British Cliffite SWP- two Althusserian groups, the Greek co-thinkers of the French LCR, and some independents).

Lue lisää »